Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coaching Search Will Drag On, Because It Can

Let's quickly review the coaching dignitaries that have been interviewed by your Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jerry Gray: Tennessee defensive coordinator, solid player, was once a Buc, Rooney Rule satisfied.

Mike Sherman: Unemployed former Texas A&M coach, went 25-25, excited the poo-poo out of the Aggie fans, no doubt.

Marty Schottenheimer: He's there, isn't he? Why not bring him in? Let's see what's on Marty's mind.

Those are the ones we know about.

On Friday, Wade Phillips will interview. He is the latest soup du jour on this aging menu. Phillips did a remarkable job with the Texans defense but that is what he is—a very, very solid defensive coordinator. As a head coach, Phillips hasn't been able to cut it. The leadership aspect simply hasn't been there.

That should about cover what seems like just the tip of the iceberg in the "exhaustive" coaching search.

Which begs the question: How long will this process drag on?

It will drag on as long as the Glazers want it to drag on. They'll drag it on simply because they can.

Earlier this week we questioned if Schottenheimer was the lead dog in this looney race to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head job.

Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.

History tells us that it is virtually impossible to read what's on the mind of the Glazers, except when it comes to spending money on players and that aspect of the NFL called free agency.

The longer this process goes on, the more you begin to wonder if they're possibly targeting a guy whose team is still involved in the playoffs.

If that indeed is the case, well, then it might be well after the Super Bowl when we finally get an answer to the most-asked question among Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans.

Former Buccaneer quarterback Shaun King from 1010 radio's King David Show, put his two cents in this week and came up with New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as his candidate of choice.

You could now list the all-talk-show candidate list like this:

Ian Beckles (Ron and Ian Show 620 WDAE): Rod Marinelli.

Steve Duemig (The Big Dog Show 620 WDAE): Rich Bisaccia.

Shaun King (The King David Show 1010 WQYK): Gregg Williams.

Dan Sileo (620 WDAE): Marc Trestman.

If you look and ask around, there are candidates everywhere.

The only constant in this developing mess is that no names of college coaches have emerged.

At this point, I simply don't know what to tell you.

Ran into former three-time All-Pro Buccaneer center Tony Mayberry at the grocery store yesterday and hit him with this:

"Big T, have the Bucs called you yet about the coaching vacancy?"

To which Mayberry simply smiled and replied:

"Not me, no way, I wouldn't take it if they offered it. Who would want the stress?"

He's right; that's probably the main guarantee that comes with this job.

All things considered, when you look at the roster, the defense, the lack of discipline and accountability and the overall big picture, there's bound to be a lot of stress waiting for someone.

Whoever it may be.